I first tried this beer on tap a few years ago in a small restaurant near Ellsworth wisconsin. This beer WAS brewed in Maiden Rock near the rush river but as they have grown they moved to River Falls.

This is a great beer for my tastes - unfiltered, full body, just the right amount of hops ... tastes a lot like Mac and Jacks African Amber which I think this beer was modeled after. It is now my regular beer when I choose not to experiment with something new.

The colour of this beer is, well, amber. Slightly hazy, I decanted carefully as this is unfiltered. Nice white head with ok lacing. Smells strongly of toasty malts, with a slight sourdough breadiness to it. A light citrus, earthy hop aroma makes a cameo as well. The flavour mirrors the aroma with perhaps a tad more hop presence. There is also a slight, almost Belgian like yeast twang in there. Bitterness is there for balance and helps to leave a nice dryness in the finish. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. This is an easy drinkin and well made beer. An intersting variation on what can at times be a rather boring style. I like this beer an awfull lot!

(Served in an American pint glass) bottled 2wk June A- This beer has a slightly hazy slightly dense apricot brown body with a snow globe of little bits swirling around with tiny bubbles. There is a sticky antique white head that last for most of the beer. S- The soft sweet but very aromatic caramel malt and honey malt gives way to a soft green pine aroma that grows with each sip. T- This beer has a slightly sweet caramel malt with some dry honey malt notes underneath. There is a soft slightly sweet biscuit note then a soft pine hint in the finish. M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a creamy texture. D- This beer has a nice full rich caramel flavor but its not sweet or sugary with a nice support of green hops underneath. If there were light classes of beers I would say this is a great light barleywine.

I have nothing against ambers, but they usually end up as decent beers, and nothing worth celebrating. As such, I wasn't expecting much when I cracked this bottle.

A nice puffy one-finger head starts us off, but it fades pretty quickly. The beer has a ruddy orangish-red color. Really nice aroma of fruit on top of a bready base. Maybe this will be better than I thought.

The first sip hits immediately. Lots of immediate flavors and a touch of sweetness before it all fades to the hops on the back of the tongue. There's more going on here than in a typical amber. True to the nose, we've got some citrus flavors mixed with a biscuity base. I'm really digging the taste and it's got a nice medium weight to it in the mouth.

This beer is much better than I expected coming in. It's an amber certainly, but without any of the boringness I associate with that style. Unique and delicious. I'll definitely be picking up more of this.

S- The first thing that hits the nose is a nice hopiness which I would be willing to bet is cascades. Amongst the hopiness is some caramel malt and just a touch of honey.

T- Intially I get some dryness/bitterness due to the hops and then some really great caramel/maltiness, but it is definitely leaning more towards hoppy. The finish of the beer is dry hops with just a touch of residual brown sugar/malt.

M- Initially, the beer seems to have a bit of a cloying carbonation but lessens as the beer disappears in the glass. Overall no major issues, however.

D- As one who typically dislikes amber beers, the rush river really changes my perspective on ambers. This beer is great because it has more of a hop bite making it more than just the caramel notes that I have tasted a thousand times. Given the %, I could session this no problem and could easily drink this one everyday.

Taste is a very pleasant one. A good caramel sweetness comes first, with a great note of biscuit pairing with it. Tasty. Hops are present on the present in an herbal way....just enough to wrap the swallow up right without lingering.

Toffee-ish amber in color, 1cm off white head. The aroma is of malty toasted grains, sweet and sugary caramel, light citrusy hops, and something I couldn't quite put my finger on that was a bit soapy. I though it may have been from a poor glass washing job at the bar I originally sampled it, but I had a bottle of it the other night and it was there too. Not necessarily off putting, but definitely odd.

The taste is outstanding, and there was no hint of that soapiness from the aroma. Sweet and fruity apples and pears, toasted bread, a bit biscuity, caramelly. Medium carbonation, medium light body, and a slight creaminess to it. The hops are lightly tangy, but mainly leave some citrusy and floral notes. More fruity notes as it warms, raisins, dates, and some almost berry like flavors. Some yeasty chunks near the bottom.

Overall: one of my favorite ambers I have ever had. I really haven't tried all that many ambers given my affinity for hops and/or darker maltier beers, but I was really impressed with this one. The fruitiness is what stood out about it to me, where as a lot of ambers the flavor consists more of toasted grain that turns to a bit more of a cardboard flavor as it gets old. Maybe this one is just a bit fresher than most I have tried given its produced so close. Enough complexity for a relatively simple style, great flavors, and outstanding drinkability.

This is a revise from my review about a year ago, not sure if my palate has just changed this much or if they have changed the beer.

Apperance, good cloudy amber color, White foamy head that leaves pretty quickly and leaves a little lacing.Smell, good carmel malt smell, rounded out with floral hop aroma.Taste, great sweet malt flavor rounded out almost perfectly with some candy floral hops.Mouthfeel, Nice and thick but not overly thick, this one is very smooth and very well carbonated (my main issue last time I had it.Drinkability, this was a good beer I would definatly drink again, the hop touch was nice and I like the sweet malts, very nice beer.

Great unfiltered and unpasteurized ale. It has great flavor with a good balance of malt and hops, mild spice and floral notes, and a clean finish. This is the first time I have posted a review. I chose to post it about this beer because I think it is one of the best beers I have had in a while. I have had it on tap and in a bottle. I like it best on tap but the bottle does not disappoint. I highly recommend it!

On tap at Famous Dave's of all places. Pours a cloudy bright amber color with a small white head. The aroma is mild and malty. The tatse is similar to the aroma, but more pronounced. Malty overall with hops peaking through. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, and very smooth. Overall, this is a very drinkable brew. It is one of the best amber ales that I have had.

A- Orange-honey with a good bit of suspended particulate. Head retention is so-so.S- Bread dough, slightly citrusy, with a bit of floral aromas.T- Up front there is a good bit of citrus. The finish brings in a doughy, freshly sweet flavor. There is just a touch of toffee and butterscotch Well balanced and flavorful.M- Clean mouthfeel. Medium-light body. Medium carb.O- Among my favorite amber ales. Easy drinking and quite tasty.

On-tap at MacKenzie's: Dark cloudy golden amber with more gold at the bottom. Small bubbly cap of creamy colored foam sits atop. Maintains a good skim and collar and when swirled the head flows back up to a respectable level so it seemingly has good carbonation. Lacing in adequate amounts of webby strings.

Aroma is firm, steady, crispened, and present of sour dough bagels and roasty nuttyness. Very bready on the nose.

Taste is also pretty bready; and thickly so. Nice sour dough bagel creamy breadyness with some nice evenly handeled roasted nuttyness towards the finish and some buttery notes mixed with warm whole grain toast spread with an orange/apricot marmalade. Solid taster for an amber, more so then most I've encountered with a Vienna style twist of heavy breads. Nice.

Fantastic full bodied finish, creamy, full, and eager with incredibly fine breadyness thats very well rounded and creamy with just the right amount of give in the carbonation.

This is one of the better Ambers I've had in quite awhile. I actually stay away from this style on most occasions due to its basic flavor profile and character that's seemingly copied at every brewpub or wannabe brewery. A good change of pace for the style; and I for sure as hell was glad to have tried it. Very good on-tap.

Mouthfeel - Body is quite heavy and the carbonation is pretty strong, which is the weakest aspect of this beer. The body itself makes this beer more of a sipper rather than something you can just slam instantly, which both in favor of and against the beer.

Overall - An excellent Amber Ale despite some problems with it's palate. I've always had solid beers from Rush River and this proves to be another quality beer from that brewery.